Lately, there has been a lot of media coverage about a respiratory virus outbreak that has now spread to 22 states: EV-D68. On Twitter, I’ve been seeing a lot of extreme comments to CNN Breaking News‘ post about the virus, such as “the world is coming to an end,” “zombie apocalypse,” and a lot of unnecessary blaming of President Obama. Despite stirring up a lot of panic, according to the CDC the respiratory virus is actually “not commonly severe.” 

As a parent and nurse, I figured I should post an entry about the virus, how it affects your family, and what you can expect if you find that your child(ren) come down with symptoms that may alert you to this infection. So here’s the scoop:

What is EV-D68?

EV-D68 is a non-polio enterovirus, which is a very common class of virus that causes dozens of other illnesses, which generally are not severe. D68 is a virus that mostly affects infants, children, and teens, due to a more vulnerable immune system.  It usually manifests as a mild infection, like the common cold. However, the more severe cases of EV-D68 infections are in infants, children, teens, and immune compromised people who have a history of asthma or wheezing. Continue reading “A Parent’s Guide to Respiratory Virus EV-D68” »